Forest Trail Academy Reviews 199

TrustScore 4.5 out of 5

4.4

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Rated 5 out of 5 stars

My son attended Forest Trail Academy for three years - 10th, 11th and 12th grades. He enjoyed the flexibility of the asynchronous courses and being able to work at his own pace and create his own sche... See more

Company replied

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Success: Our son competed ninth and tenth grade with Forest Trail Academy. He then transferred to Running Start at our local community college. When he took the placement test, he was able to advance... See more

Company replied

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Easy to use format, quick turnaround on assignments, great flexibility (can complete one class at a time or work on all of them at the same time). Always quick to respond to questions and helpful when... See more

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Our 11th grade son is attaining academic success at FTA. The teachers and staff are personal, caring and supportive. FTA is helping our son learn, excel and grow. The curriculum is challenging and... See more

Company replied

Company details

  1. School
  2. Association or Organization

Written by the company

Forest Trail Academy is an accredited online school that offers online homeschool programs for students in grades K-12. The classes provide flexibility to study subjects according to a self-paced schedule that’s suited to the individual needs. We help students reach their educational goals by offering a variety of individual classes online. The curriculum we offer is aligned to Common Core State Standards and taught by qualified teachers.


Contact info

4.4

Excellent

TrustScore 4.5 out of 5

199 reviews

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Rated 3 out of 5 stars

If you have an independent high…home schooled athlete

If you have an independent high schooler, our experience was reasonably well. Teachers responded to parents questions, as did front office, or technical support. Some of the curriculum course work seems not to be connected to subject, ie: writing an essays for math that do no correlate to course work. Some of the work seems redundant. Having said that, I did a lot of research before I signed up and I knew going into this that out of so many other online HS, this seemed to be a good choice for our budget. We did one semester and will continue with this program as it does fit for a homeschooled athlete.

June 3, 2019
Unprompted review
Forest Trail Academy logo

Reply from Forest Trail Academy

Thank you for the review. Forest Trail Academy's flexible program is a great alternative to traditional schooling for athletes and students who need to be able to complete coursework on their own schedule. In addition to being aligned with Common Core State Standards and Florida's Next Generation Sunshine State Standards, we offer an NCAA approved courses.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Forest Trail has enabled 3 of my…

Forest Trail has enabled 3 of my children to have an excellent opportunity for an alternative setting education, with amazing administrative support, as well. My two oldest are now in college. They were able to use Forest Trail, along with a home curriculum, to accomplish their goal of finishing high school, and both are now excited to be in college, pursuing advanced degrees. My third is still in process, but I will always be grateful to FTA for providing support and encouragement in their journey

June 3, 2019
Unprompted review
Rated 3 out of 5 stars

My kids learned a lot but there were so…

My kids learned a lot but there were so many typos in the lessons and videos did not always work.

June 2, 2019
Unprompted review
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Reply from Forest Trail Academy

We agree that typos and broken links are frustrating. Our curriculum team has recently completed a thorough review of the curriculum and we have updated our plan for future reviews/editing to ensure we continue to provide students with quality curriculum. Thank you for the feedback.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Would not recommend

Had a hard time connecting with teachers about questions. Not enough details given on assignments! Once I removed my son it has been hard to get his final grades and stuff to enroll in other schools! Just not what I expected for home schooling at ALL!!!!!

June 1, 2019
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Good school

Good school! Teachers are attentive; curriculum and content are solid. Great experience, and a good education!

June 1, 2019
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Great Experience

My daughter and I had a GREAT experience with this school. I liked everything about it, their customer service and communication with parents was excellent!

My daughter learned a lot, I would recommend this school to anyone.

Thank you,

Linda Bruno

June 1, 2019
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Do not waste time or money here

No instruction. Garbage curriculum. Non stop aggravation. We are so done. Wasted
thousands of dollars. A year. And a stomach ulcer. This school should be shut down.

June 1, 2019
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Not worth the money

Not worth the money. You’d be better off on your own.

June 1, 2019
Unprompted review
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Reply from Forest Trail Academy

We're sorry to hear we weren't able to meet your expectations. Thank you for the feedback.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

Many teachers were helpful and are…

Many teachers were helpful and are alway welcome to help. They process fast and do accurate work

June 1, 2019
Unprompted review
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Reply from Forest Trail Academy

Thank you for the review of Forest Trail Academy. We think our teachers are pretty great and we're pleased to hear about your experience.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Forest Trail Academy

Helpful, professional and easy to deal with.

June 1, 2019
Unprompted review
Forest Trail Academy logo

Reply from Forest Trail Academy

Thank you! At Forest Trail Academy, we take pride in connecting and engaging with our families and providing quality, professional support. We appreciate the review.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

HORRIBLE School all the way around

Teachers were very lazy in grading work, then after 4+ assignments were turned in for one class they would start sending them back if they werent 100s. My dughter tried exhautively to get teachers to assist her in figuring out what she was doing wrong to no avail. I called and spoke with administration and it only made it worse. The front office only wanted money, they did not address any concerns with me or my 15 year old daughter. We didnt know the cut off to finish courses til about a week prior. I paid for a report card i never receieved ..... I coukd go on and on about how this school is only out for money and teachers failed miserably at their job.

June 1, 2019
Unprompted review
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Reply from Forest Trail Academy

We're sorry to hear about your negative experience. Teachers grade student work within 72 hours. However, if a large volume of work (5+ assignments in a single course) is submitted on the same day, teachers are granted additional time to grade. Assignments that are blank or incomplete are marked redo, in accordance with school policy. These policies are in place to meet accreditation standards.

All course expiration dates are indicated in bold, red text at the top of the student and parent dashboard homepage (when students/parents first login). This ensures there is clear transparency as to when courses expire immediately upon enrollment (a year in advance).

In regards to a report card that you paid for and didn't receive, records are guaranteed to be sent within 3-5 days of request. However, please note that we will not run a credit card should there be a balance on the account because we are unable to send academic records with a tuition balance on the account. If there is not a balance owed and you were charged, please contact us immediately so we may verify the status. Should you have paid for this and never received it, we are happy to refund.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Forest Trail was a great option for my…

Forest Trail was a great option for my son in middle school. He was having trouble with being bullied at public school and began to fall behind in his classes as a result. The staff at Forest Trail was awesome, knowledgeable, and readily available to help when needed. The curriculum was right on target. The price was very reasonable. Taking classes online for a couple of years worked out well in our situation. My son was able to catch up, enter public high school, make A/B honor roll and graduate with his class. He has Forest Trail to thank for that.

May 31, 2019
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

There was absolutely no oversight into…

There was absolutely no oversight into our daughters education. No follow up or support for her. She was far too young to be expected to know what to do.

May 31, 2019
Unprompted review
Forest Trail Academy logo

Reply from Forest Trail Academy

We regret to hear that you felt there was inadequate student support. Support in online education often looks much different than what students and parents are used to in the brick and mortar school. Specifically, younger students will require assistance/guidance from a parent or guardian. No matter the age, our teachers are available for live help during virtual office hours and will respond to messages sent via the message center within 24-48 hours. Teachers also provide feedback on student assessments and follow up with students who haven't been active in their course. We welcome all feedback/suggestions for how we may better support our younger students and their parent/guardian.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

Difficulties for high school

In high school, my daughter needs a little more support on how to do difficult subjects like geometry & chemistry. It would be nice if the teacher could post a video showing how to solve in each chapter. Other than that, everything is great.

May 31, 2019
Unprompted review
Forest Trail Academy logo

Reply from Forest Trail Academy

Thank you for the review. We appreciate the suggestions and will take them into consideration as we are continuously looking to improve our curriculum and student experience.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

No teaching happened and there was…

No teaching happened and there was really no school. No learning. It was beyond weird and I would never recommend this place. Ever.

May 31, 2019
Unprompted review
Forest Trail Academy logo

Reply from Forest Trail Academy

We're sorry to hear you didn't have a pleasant experience. Given the asynchronous nature of our online program, learning and teacher support/interaction look much different than the brick and mortar classroom. Students who would like live help from their teacher(s) may attend virtual office hours. During office hours, teachers can answer questions, give live presentations, work through examples, etc. Teachers are also available by message center, responding within 24-48 hours. In addition, teachers provide feedback on all submitted assignments in an effort to help students identify and correct their mistakes. That said, we understand that distance learning isn't for everyone and we wish your student the best.

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